The Cultivated Wild

Book excerpt: A long-awaited second book from the Miami-based landscape architect lauded by the Wall Street Journal for “dreaming up dense, thickly forested canopies that give way to modern high rises and million-dollar residences.” Color and texture burst forth at every turn in gardens by landscape architect Raymond Jungles. Sculptural bromeliads, swaying palms, delicate epiphytes, and vibrant orchids combine to immerse visitors in rich, lush environments that captivate the eye with layer upon layer of interest. Taking cues first from a site’s topography and conditions, Jungles combines tapestries of plants with unique water elements that enhance what nature has offered—swaths of grasses and succulents direct the eye toward unspeakably romantic Caribbean vistas, intriguingly pitted and mossy oolitic limestone monoliths create trickling waterfalls and hidden grottoes, and innovative combinations of native trees surround sinuous and calming infinity pools. The Cultivated Wild shows Jungles expanding to such diverse locales as Big Timber, Montana; Monterrey, Mexico; St. Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies; Abacos, Bahamas; and even the temporary Brazilian Modern Orchid Show for the New York Botanical Garden—as well as responding creatively to sites unique to his adopted hometown: rooftop gardens and pools including the penthouse Sky Garden atop the now-iconic Herzog & de Meuron–designed parking garage at 1111 Lincoln Road, along with its famous pedestrian promenade. Jungles presents 21 gardens here in glorious full color, many accompanied by highly personal hand-drawn plans, general and thumbnail plans, sections, sketches, and design details that reveal the creative process. Packed with inspiration for gardeners in warm zones and those interested in creating subtropical gardens of their own, The Cultivated Wild reveals a firm working at the height of its talents.